A Rumpled Alchemist

 

“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

I take the dross of pain and joy
I plan to weave tonight
Decomposing experience
putrefying by the wayside
waiting to see what may arise
out of the decay
I weave the remains
a golden thread
in which I shall cloak myself
with understanding
as compassion is born
for those whom it may fit.
Each night I weave
yearning for something pure
yet they still can’t guess my name.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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RestartRestart by G A Rosenberg

 

Awaiting the Wish (Redux)Awaiting the Wish (Redux) by G A Rosenberg

 

Wake-Up Call

 

“Much of magic as I understand it in the Western occult tradition is the search for the Self, with a capital S. This is understood as being the Great Work, as being the gold the alchemists sought, as being the Will, the Soul, the thing we have inside us that is behind the intellect, the body, the dreams. The inner dynamo of us, if you like. Now this is the single most important thing that we can ever attain, the knowledge of our own Self. And yet there are a frightening amount of people who seem to have the urge not just to ignore the Self, but actually seem to have the urge to obliterate themselves. This is horrific, but you can almost understand the desire to simply wipe out that awareness, because it’s too much of a responsibility to actually posses such a thing as a soul, such a precious thing. What if you break it? What if you lose it? Mightn’t it be best to anesthetize it, to deaden it, to destroy it, to not have to live with the pain of struggling towards it and trying to keep it pure? I think that the way that people immerse themselves in alcohol, in drugs, in television, in any of the addictions that our culture throws up, can be seen as a deliberate attempt to destroy any connection between themselves and the responsibility of accepting and owning a higher Self and then having to maintain it.”
— Alan Moore

 

There is something inside of us that calls to us no matter how hard we resist. We can drink, do drugs, watch violent movies and sports, treat each other like shit yet still even when we try to quiet our inner self it speaks out. Perhaps it is in acts of self-sabatoge as that inner self tries to rouse us from our self-induced slumber. Perhaps we have an experience where for just a second we are connected to that higher self and know beyond mere belief that what we have been running from all this time is both fierce and beautiful. It may be just the right conversation at just the right time that does it but few of us can resist it when it happens. For at least a brief time we wake up knowing that there is something more to strive for. Tho we may choose to hit the snooze button and return to our slumber, once heard that voice cannot be fully ignored.
Blessings, G

 

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The Path Leads Quickly Inwards on Many LevelsThe Path Leads Inward on Many Levels by G A Rosenberg

 

Wired EyeWired Eye by G A Rosenberg

 

Spirit of the Dark WoodSpirit of the Dark Wood by G A Rosenberg

 

Tarot Post – Temperance (Art)

 

XIV-Temperance / Art (♐︎)

 

Temperance Temperance by G A Rosenberg

 

Alchemical art
mix my opposite being
within my vessel

 

I Not I
being, becoming
transforming
from the Not into the I
and the I into the knot
Letting the old flow into the new
and transmuting it
my male to female
woman to man
combining
body to soul
gaining new awareness as I go
controlling it carefully
yet letting it flow.
Integrating the dissolve
with new resolve
all with the aim of the gold in mind.
Eagle and Lion cracking the egg
the snake transforms
new insight descends.
— G A Rosenberg

 

In the trump the Lovers, we become aware that there is an existence outside of our own and sensibilities very different from ours. It is this difference that makes us start to question our lives. With Temperance we learn to synthesize these differences and consciously incorporate them into our own being. Temperance or Art is the card of Balancing Transformation. It is connected by many with the art of Alchemy. When many people think of Alchemy, they think of the Philosopher’s stone which results in the ability to change lead into gold. What the Alchemists true goal was to change the lead of corse matter into the gold of spiritual awareness. This was done by blending and combining the opposite elements within one’s being. Combining in other words who we are with who we are not, our shadow selves to become something greater. The angel in the card is combining onto (and into) herself the liquid fire with the fiery water to form something new. By being aware of who we are and who we are not, we can consciously acquire new talents and abilities, blend the two and become something greater, the being who we wish to be. Just as the alchemist followed very specific methods with very specific ingredients, this transformation does not happen in a wild and uncontrolled form but through self-examination and meditation and quite usually through ritual (even the ones we create for ourselves).

 

Astrological Correspondence – Sagittarius (♐︎)-The Sagittarius energy is an exploratory one that hungers for the freedom to search out truth. It is an enthusiastic fiery energy and one that shifts in viewpoint and location to further its understanding. Its symbol is the hunting centaur (denoted by the centaur’s arrow). The centaur is part man and part horse and partakes of the nature of man and beast and masters the blending of them both. Sagittarius’ ruling planet is Jupiter and has that optimistic and expansive aura. It is an energy that takes risks in its desire to do more, know more and understand more and it becomes what it needs to in order to achieve this end. The Sagittarius influence is one that focuses on self-truth, personal integrity and self-perfection. Sagittarius brings back what its arrows aim for.

 

Runic Correspondence – Dagaz (‘Dawn’) dagaz
Dagaz is the rune of transformation. It is connected with achieving enlightenment through the resolution of paradox. Dagaz’s time of day is the in-between times of twilight and dawn.
Dagaz involves the blending and transformation of one thing into its opposite and the synergy that can come from the two working together. The rune heralds the safe conclusion of these shiftings. Other runes associated with Temperance are Laguz and Nauthiz.

 

Path on the Tree of Life -Path 25-Samekh-Samekh means literally “tent peg”. It is the path that dissolves the lower ego with ones higher consciousness. It connects the sephiroth of the Sun and the Moon, Tiphareth (“beauty”) and Yesod(“foundation”). It is known in the Sepher Yetzirah as the Testing Consciousness and is connected to the temptations that can befall one in that spiritual becoming. The temptations are connected to the balancing out of the self and its shadow and the blending of the two. Samekh is also connected with the worm ouroboros which it resembles, a snake with its tail in its mouth.

 

When Temperance turns up in a reading, it can indicate that one’s life has reached a state of balance. The querent may be at a stage where the allot enough time to do both the things they want to do and the things they have to do. They work when they need to and have enough time for family and leisure. It may mean tho that it is time for them to examine their lives and figure out how to bring this state of balance about in a conscious way. Temperance may also show in a spiritual sense that the querent is undergoing a transformative experience and that they have made it through the trials and are integrating it with their conscious awareness. The card may be cautioning the querent against going to extremes and learning when to assert themselves in a conscious manner. A keynote for the card is taking responsibility for one’s life in a conscientious way. In a situation where the querent feels torn between two different paths, it suggests finding a synthesis of the two

 

Temperance inverses talks about imbalance in the querent’s life. It could mean that they are going to extremes, first acting in one way and then acting wildly the opposite in order to try to balance the two. This may be because they lack any long-term plan or purpose for their life and they need to take conscious responsibility for it. It may refer to passive-agressive behaviour on the querent’s part. The reversed Temperance may also refer to someone being so cautious and afraid of their own actions that they hesitate too much refusing to act at all. The card reversed may also refer to someone who is unable to integrate recent changes in awareness into their lives possibly out of fear for how others will react.

 

Art’s Alchemy

“True alchemy lies in this formula: ‘Your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse’.”
― Arthur Rimbaud

 

What we choose to create comes from who we are. Who we are as far as I can tell comes from some inherent characteristics, some energy (soul, spirit, ray what have you ) that filters through everything we sense and everything that we remember either consciously or subconsciously. If we remember old television theme songs and comic book heroes along with the typical dysfunctional family dynamics that most of us grew up with (along with a strong hunger for world mythology and spirituality and appreciation of the aesthetics of the human body) then that will come across in the art we make. If I had had different interests during my formative years, my art may have manifested in a much different way. What I write about here each day springs directly from what I have experienced either in creating art or talking with people or sometimes with the quotes I find in desperation looking for topics on days that have been quiet. Each shaped by my memory and experiences. Each manifesting an aspect of who I am.
Blessings G

 

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CastleCastle by G A Rosenberg

 

Scattered RainbowScattered Rainbows by G A Rosenberg

Alchemical Mesa (Redux)

 

Elemental Gifts

 

I gave the fire my hope
fed it and raised it high
and it illuminated the night
and burned until morning’s breeze
stirred the lasting embers.

 

At water’s edge, I contemplate
watch the waves come in, withdraw
They speak to me in the Moon’s voice
which echoes my inner and outer vision
bringing me peace until dawn’s rising
calls me back inside.

 

The Air gives witness to my rage
it bears it up and outward
away from my being
Becalmed until new day’s pressure
starts building up within.

and so The Earth receives my love
mother at the root of all
she nourishes me as I suckle
safe until the daylight’s heat
starts rousing me again….

 

–G A Rosenberg

 

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alchemical mesaAlchemical Mesa by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – December 24 2012

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
― Carl Jung

 

Interpersonal alchemy is quite possibly my favourite kind. Meeting someone with a whole new set of values and intricacies, who has learned to deal with their lives in totally different ways than I have. Someone with whom in both qualities I enjoy and qualities I don’t will show me a fun house mirror of myself that we will both have to accept for things to continue. Of course I will be showing them the same. But in the relationship, a new kingdom waits to be explored..
Blessings, G

 

On a somewhat heavier personal note, my mother-in-law tonight faced some medical complications bravely. She was operated on and it looks like she will pull through just fine. I am grateful to the universe. As cliched as it sounds, hold your loved ones tight, you never know when your mutual exploration of each other’s country will come to an end…..
 

 

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Crystal Blue Persuasion

Generator by G A Rosenberg

 

Amonite Persian RugAmmonite Persian Rug by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day-November 27 2011

“This is why alchemy exists,” the boy said. “So that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than he was in his former life. Lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold.
That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

–Paulo Coelho

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Alchemical Games by G A Rosenberg


More Than Half-Astral by G A Rosenberg